To A New End
by Lily's Prongs
Summary: What happens when you go on a date with someone who is related to the person you've had your last relationship with? (Looking for a pair which sets your mind ticking? Well here it is!) NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A big thank you to Emily and scrappy8 for reviewing my first fanfiction! Feels great when some one complements your work. :) This story is about my perception of the identity of the muggle Cho married after the Battle of Hogwarts. Enjoy!**

 **P. s.: If it was mine, I won't have been writing fanfictions ;)**

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Streaks of molten gold and magenta pastels tainting the sky diluted themselves into a soft orange- pink shade and eventually into a pitch black one, as the stars splattered the night sky, appearing like small pinpricks. She sat there, on the sickly yellow painted bench, smoking, as her sleek black hair cascaded down her shoulders in flat, limp sheets.

She cursed inwardly. She wasn't an extraordinaire of sorts, but still, she was Cho Chang, the first ever girlfriend of Harry Potter, the boy who lived and an exclusive member of the infamous defence group: Dumbledore's Army. So what, you may ask, was she doing in the central park with her hot pink lipstick now chapped and dry and her eyeliner smudged at the edges? Well, it was a long story and to make it short, she entirely blamed her utter stupidity for that. If only she hadn't let things get awkward between Harry and herself, she'd have been proudly claiming herself as Mrs. Potter today; but then again, that's a story for some other time.

Right now, the chill in the atmosphere was making her shudder violently- her deep blue cocktail dress didn't provide much of an insulation. Her irritability had reached a new level when she heard large, heavy footsteps approaching her. 'You're late,' she said shortly, not finding it in her to look up as she glared into the dark. 'I know. I'm sorry.' A gruff voice replied. 'Oh really?! You don't seem sorry at all.' She snapped back. The figure sighed. 'Look, there was an especially difficult client I had to attend at Grunnings, who I couldn't possibly leave and come. I really didn't intend to keep you waiting.' 'Okay,' she replied. What else was she supposed to say? She wasn't particularly good at ice breakers and she was in no mood for sweet talks.

Gathering her wits, she finally looked up at the man standing beside her as she absentmindedly tossed the cigarette, she had been crushing between her fingers, into the nearby dustbin. Stefanie Abbers, her squib roommate, was right. He looked more like a sausage which had sprouted hair than a man, with his pale pink skin bulging out of his collar and his blond hair neatly parted into two halves. 'Stef better be right about his sweet nature too or I am definitely slaughtering her later. I wish I hadn't let her convince me into going on a blind date with her muggle boss, just to 'let loose' as she stated it. All this man has done till now is turn up late and serve as a pure torture to my food hungry mind,' Cho said to herself, struggling to remember the name of the man in front of her. The only thing she managed to recollect was that his name started with a D. Lost in her frenzy of disoriented thoughts, she was brought back to reality by him clearing his throat awkwardly. 'So, you don't seem to be up to it to go to the restaurant I had booked for us earlier,' he deadpanned.

'No. I am not,' she replied, snapping at him again. She had been all dolled up and ready about an hour ago and now it was ruined just because he decided to turn up late.

He sighed. 'You really snap a lot.'

'And you really sigh a lot,' she retorted angrily.

'This isn't getting anywhere, is it?' He finally asked, sounding defeated. A pang of guilt consumed her. Was she being that difficult? 'Yes, it isn't,' she replied softly, trying to lighten herself up for his sake. She could see that he was trying to make things pleasant, so why shouldn't she lend her hand in it too? 'I know a fast food stall around the corner. We could grab burgers and some fries from there and then eat it here,' she suggested, getting up. 'That seems a good idea-,' he abruptly stopped, seeing her properly for the first time that night, under the flickering light of the street lamp. Despite the crumpled dress and the slightly distorted makeup, she looked beautiful; breathtakingly elegant. Noticing her shivering body for the first time, he said, stating the obvious, 'You're cold.' 'I guess I am,' she replied shrugging, hoping to sound nonchalant. She didn't fool him.

He removed the coat he had been wearing and gently perched it on her shoulders. 'Thank you,' she said, giving him a genuine smile as warmth enveloped her quivering body. 'You can stay here if you want. I can go and fetch us food from the place you mentioned,' he offered her tentatively, unsure of her reply. 'No, no. I don't mind accompanying you,' she replied, surprising even herself by her willingness to keep his company.


	2. Chapter 2

Clutching the parcels they had brought from the stall, they duo sat on the bench, now feeling at ease with each as they laughed freely at each other's jokes. 'So,' he said, looking at the laughing lady beside him with awe and wonder, 'Tell me more about yourself.' She nodded compliance but inwardly, she was having a full-fledged panic attack. She highly doubted her ability in concealing her identity as a witch. 'Well, erm, where do I start form? I started going to a boarding school since I was eleven,' she said, deciding to leave out its name at the last minute, 'To say that it was a beautiful place, would be a great understatement; its beauty was and still is, beyond the limit of words. I considered it my home. Things were great for me there- I made some really good friends, one of them was Marietta Edgecombe. I meet her once in a while now and umm… yeah. That's it really. There is nothing much I can talk about,' she said, desperately wanting to change the topic. Unfortunately for her, he didn't seem to take the hint and prodded her further, mistaking her desperation as modesty, 'Oh come on, there must be something, like, for one, did you have any boyfriend?

Cho stifled a groan. This was the last thing she would want to talk about to _anyone_ she knew, he was no exception. Unable to cook up a perfect lie and not wanting to lie to him, she decided to be as truthful as she could be, 'I had two boyfriends actually. One of them went by the name- Cedric,' she said, holding back her tears as memories, both good and bad, flooded back to her; hardly realising that the man beside her had frozen on hearing the name.

' _I heard you last night,' he said breathlessly. 'Talking in your sleep. Moaning.'_

' _What d'you mean?'_

 _He gave a harsh bark of laughter, then adapted a high – pitched whimpering voice._

'" _Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!" Who's Cedric – your boyfriend?'_

Shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the surge of memories which clouded his mind due to the mentioning of that name, he turned his attention back to her, her voice now hoarse, unshielded tears pouring down her sapphire blue eyes as she continued, 'At the end on that year, he… he was killed by… by the most powerful mass murderer of that time, just… just because of his presence in the scene.' With that she broke down, taking in large gulps of air in an attempt steady herself. 'I'm sorry,' he said quietly, patting her gently as he looked away, in a way that he thought looked unpurposeful, wanting to give her time to recollect herself. Despite his fervent attempts to stop it, his mind was racing.

She wasn't like _him_ , was she? No. She definitely wasn't; but what if she _was_? Did it make a difference either way? He couldn't decide himself. His contemplations were brought to an unpleasant halt as he almost _choked_ on hearing what she said further, 'Sorry about that. I don't think I will ever get over that incident which had occurred that night. The year after Cedric's death was especially difficult; but Harry, unlike some others, was so sympathetic and understanding about it. And I guess that's what made me want to be with him? I don't know, honestly.'

After a small pause, she continued, her tone brighter than it was before as she stared into the depths of the pitch black cloak which seemed to have been draped over the sky, not realising that her date had now a turned into a shade of blotchy white, 'I really don't know much about either of them. All I can remember is that Harry is an orphan and has some seriously nasty relatives, he used to live with during the holidays of his school years, and a cousin, who Harry would say, was nothing more than a pig in a wig.' She finished, her eyes drifting back to focus as she finally turned to look at him.

She frowned. If she hadn't been so sure that there weren't any magical folk around then, she could have easily said that he was stupefied by someone; but since she was sure there weren't any around, his expression was making horrifying thoughts cross her mind – had she accidentally let slip that she was a witch? She wracked her brain several times but wasn't able to find anything incriminating which could justify his sudden change in demeanour towards her. Not being able to take it anymore yet still fearing the worst, she asked him warily, 'What is it?'

'You're a witch, aren't you?' He asked, his voice low and husky, making Cho fear his intentions as he was about to know the truth - she didn't know the reasons that had led him to think that she was a witch and this had made her potentially unable to counter argue his flow of thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

She gaped at him. How could he have known? 'Yes I am,' she replied cautiously, her hand slowly reaching for her purse, where her wand had been stashed. Being used to seeing it for years, he caught the flurry of movement that she had done instinctively on his question. He looked at her reproachfully, feeling mildly offended, 'You needn't take out that wand of yours, you know,' he said silently pleading her. 'Why shouldn't I?' She asked, unable to keep the defensiveness out of her tone. He surveyed her silently. She looked torn between bemusement and discretion. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he asked, 'You want to know how I came to that conclusion, don't you?' She nodded mutely.

'I used to live with my cousin until a few years ago. My parents always thought of him as a bit of a nuisance. I used to think of him in the same way too, though my opinion changed drastically at a later stage, but that's not my point. My cousin possessed some special abilities which my parents and I despised wholeheartedly. Honestly, I reckon that, more than hatred, it was fear which made us keep distance from him. Fear of what he was capable of, fear of what he could do to us.'

'When we were about fifteen and he had returned after finishing his year at the boarding school, he used to keep muttering a name in sleep, begging someone to not kill that person. I remember teasing him for the name he used to moan with fervent remorse.' He saw her pupils dilate and knew that he couldn't stop without finishing now, 'The name he used to chant was Cedric.'

Feeling like a protagonist of a twisted suspense novel, she asked, 'Who are you?' He gave a small chuckle before asking, 'You don't remember my name do you?' She shook her head, her milky white skin flushed with embarrassment, 'No, I don't.' She gave him an apologic look which he returned with a grin, feeling highly amused despite himself, 'No wonder. Or you would have had at least a vague inkling about who you were talking to me about. I am Dudley Dursley, son of Petunia and Vernon Dursley and the first cousin of Harry Potter.' Her dainty hands flew to her open mouth he continued airily, 'Don't worry, I am not angry at you. I always wanted to know what Harry thought of me, so I should be thanking you instead.' Seeing her look at him incredulously, he added soberly, 'I don't blame you for what you said and after all the torment I had put him through, that's the least Harry could have said to me; and it's not as though he is lying - I _was_ nasty to him.' He felt his voice getting heavy with regret.

A soft hand slid over his making him jump in surprise. Revelling the feeling of her hand on his, almost didn't hear her as she spoke, 'He does know that you're sorry, right?' 'He does though not in those many words. I merely told him that I didn't think that he was a waste of space. Does that even count?' He asked more to himself than to her. 'Yes it does,' she said, smiling. 'I am not sure. I've met him a few times after that and he is always so nice and merry with me.' 'There shouldn't be a problem then.' 'I know there shouldn't be, but I don't think that like him, I hold the ability to get over the past that easily.'

He was a pitiful sight. Cho gazed at him. When she had seen him for the first time that day, she had been so sure that she'd _never_ even come close to remotely liking him; yet there she was, squeezing his hand, reassuring him, his pain making tears brim in her eyes. 'The past should hold nothing but fond memories and the lessons which you learned from your bad ones. The present is an opportunity for you to make amends; if you spend this time dwelling in something which can't be changed, then how can you hope for a better future?' She demanded, though not harshly, 'Each day is a new beginning. So start it with a new zest.'

He nodded, smiling at her ruefully and then suddenly gave a bark of laughter. Startled, she sprang back, shooting him a puzzled glance, fearing his sanity. 'What was that for?!' 'When I let Ms. Abbers set me up on this date, I never in my wildest dreams thought that I'd be getting life lessons from my cousin's former girlfriend,' he said, beaming. 'And neither had I expected myself to be ranting my philosophical crap to the Chosen One's cousin,' she replied, letting her head fall back as she laughed with an undue burst of elation. 'Please. That was anything but crap. And what do you mean by "The Chosen One"?' He enquired quizzically. 'Nah. Not now. Will tell you later,' she replied, not thinking twice about what she had said. But he did. 'So there _will_ be a second time then?' He asked, trying not to get his hopes up. She stopped laughing and leaned in, brushing her lips gently against his as she whispered, 'Don't worry Mr. Dursley, I am not planning on leaving you alone so soon. You still have to make it up to me for turning in late for our first date.'

With that she stood up, dusting her dress meticulously, 'I've got to go now. Stefanie must be waiting for me; and don't worry about the other stuff too much. Things will get all right before you realise it – and _this_ , is just a beginning,' she said winking as she turned around and walked away, her heels tapping sharply against the ground; leaving a stupidly grinning Dudley at her wake.

Maybe she was right, he thought, this _was_ just a beginning: a beginning, _to a new end_.

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 **A/N: Dear readers, I know its not exactly interesting to review a story, but how else is an author supposed to know whether readers have liked the story or not? Criticisms are also openly accepted. They will help me write better fanfictions in the future. So, _please_ can I get a review? Please with a cherry on the top? It really encourages me to write more :) **


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